Nearly a third of the victims were one week old or younger when the maltreatment was reported, government researchers said Thursday. The study focused on children younger than 1.
More than one-third of the nonfatal abuse occurred in the first week of life. Most of the cases involved neglect rather than purposeful physical abuse. The report estimated that the abuse killed another 499 children in 2006 before their first birthday.
It is the first kind of the report that examined abuse among the youngest children. The researchers examined data collected in fiscal year 2006 from 44 states plus the District through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which compiles reports from child protective service agencies.
A total of 905,000 children younger than 18 has been abused that year. It includes 91,278 children who had not yet reached their first birthday. The analysis was published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Of the children abused in their first year, more than 84 percent, 35,455 were less than a month old, and of those, more than 84 percent, 29,881 were less than a week old. Most of the abuse 68 percent was considered neglect.
Most cases of abuse were attributed intentional use of physical force by a parent or caregiver against a child such as beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, the researchers wrote. Abused or neglected children are much more likely to experience long-term physical and emotional problems.
